Preview Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025: Dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders

Across Flanders 2025: the most important facts in brief

• Date: 02 April 2025
• Estimated arrival time: ~ 16:35-16:57 (men), ~ 17:58-18:18 (women)
• Distance184.1 kilometres (men), 128.5 kilometres (women)
• StartRoeselare (men), Waregem (women), GoalWaregem (men and women)
• UCI category: World Tour (men), Women Elite (women)
• OrganiserFlanders Classics
• Premiere1945, 78th edition (men), 13th women
• Last year's winnerMatteo Jorgenson, Marianne Vos
• To the race report of the men's race
• Nils Politt crashes in the Cross Flanders race
• Visma-Blamage: Van Aert apologises, support from Vollering

Dwars door Vlaanderen, which means "Across Flanders", brings together the classic Flemish elements like no other classic. There are cobblestones, steep climbs and several places where the wind can break up the field. It is the last opportunity to fine-tune your skills four days before the 'Ronde', although the race is significantly shorter than the mother of the Flemish classics. Last year, Dwars door Vlaanderen was won by a Wout van Aert's heavy crash (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) was overshadowed. The Kanarieberg, where van Aert crashed on the approach, will no longer be part of the race in 2025.

The favourites for Crossing Flanders

Van Aert will be competing again this year, but is still searching for the form of days gone by and is therefore not the top favourite. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has taken on this role with his Solo victory at Gent-Wevelgem rode. The Dane rode the last 56 kilometres solo - a ride reminiscent of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) or Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck). However, the two top favourites for the Tour of Flanders will not be at the start of Dwars door Vlaanderen. In their absence, last year's winner Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) should also have a good chance of victory, just like Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck), Jonathan Milan (Lidl - Trek), Tim Merlier, Paul Magnier (both Soudal Quick-Step), Joshua Tarling, Magnus Sheffield (both INEOS Grenadiers) or Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).

Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx - Protime), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl - Trek) are the biggest names at the start in the women's race, which is not part of the Women's World Tour. Last year, Marianne Vos, who had to cancel for 2025 at short notice due to illness, won the two-rider sprint ahead of Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl - Trek), who, however, is not one of the top favourites this year, with a few seconds lead over a group around Kopecky.

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025: This is the route

Men

Waregem has always been the destination of Dwars door Vlaanderen, but the starting locations have changed several times. Since 2007, the start has been in the town of Roeselare with 65,000 inhabitants, which lies to the north-west of Waregem. The peloton passes this town for the first time after just over 30 kilometres. Up to this point, the route offers a good opportunity to warm up - provided the weather plays ball.

After 68 kilometres, the first climb, the Volkegemberg, really gets going. This is immediately followed by the first cobbled section, Holleweg. The route continues past Oudenaarde, the finish of the Tour of Flanders since 2012, in a loop over Berg Ten Houte to Ronse. After the first passage in the 1988 World Championship city, the route takes a loop via Knokteberg, Hotond, Maria Borrestraat and Berg Ten Houte back to Ronse. Knokteberg, Hotond and Maria Borrestraat then have to be completed again before returning to Oudenaarde via the Eikenberg. Two more cobbled sections await, Doorn and Huispotontweg, before the final circuit around the finish line. There, the riders take on the Nokereberg and the Herlegemstraat twice before there are only around seven kilometres to the finish.

Women

The women start in Waregem, complete a lap of around 10 kilometres and then head towards Anzegem and Berchem. There the route turns eastwards. Via Oudenaarde, it leads to the same course as the men's race around Ronse, which the women only take under their tyres once. The rest of the route in the final is then identical to that of the men.

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025: TV broadcast and live stream of Cross Flanders

The men's race runs from 14:15-17:00 on Eurosport 1and there will also be a live stream on Discovery Plus. The women's race, on the other hand, will not be broadcast live on television and can only be streamed on Discovery Plus to see - from 16:00-18:20.